Endlessly
by TheLittleSmirk
Summary: The story of Smaug the Stupendous and his journey to greatness. Join the fun! Review and message please!
1. Chapter 1 - Nymphs and tempers ablaze

**"**_Our brightest blazes are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks_**"**

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Leaves parted as a figure rushed through, whispers, cries in the darkness of the forest could be heard all around –but you would have to be a fool to give them any thought. In the ebony surroundings, lit only by the gentle breeze of the moon's rays, a whisk of dark red passed as if it were a shadow. The sound of the footsteps, or rather, the fast pit patter of her feet touching the leaf-carpeted floor was the only give away that she was there –the only sound she couldn't avoid making.

Voices were heard nearby and the amber cat-like eyes darted towards them, her hearing as sharp as an elf's. This forest was her domain, she was the protector, the slayer, the very heart and soul of it and these humane voices disturbed its dead silence. Naturally, the curious silhouette went to investigate on who trespassed, was it friend or foe? Was it trying to get to her tree? Bring her down with the whole forest? The paranoid thoughts faded between the light rustle as she came to a halt near a clearing –and her eyes widened, pupils dilated and lips parted in pure wonder. There was a dragon in human form, his scales on his tail looking rather young and his horns not yet completely evolved and of course the humans that were having swords and arrows pointed at him were oblivious to that fact. The color that adorned his beautiful scales was a dark red, hair long and of the same color, otherwise she could see nothing due to his position.

The nearby humans that lived not far from the forest seemed rather angered by the creature as their tone clarified for her as well.

"You filthy abomination! You tried to bed my daughter! Impregnate her with your filth –so that meant the poor dragon took human form to meet with his beloved human girl…was that too cliché even for her taste? _Yes it was_.

Before the vulnerable dragon got to say something and get impaled, the exotic woman finally showed herself with speed that rivaled even that of wolves on the run; her blade dug in exposed flesh until she had knelt the band of 12 villagers armed and screaming in agony. One of them dared look up at her and gasped at the sight –mainly the scar that ran over her left eye, then her green-yellow eyes with pupils thin and the bright crimson hair that shone like a flame.

"I am Minthe, nymph of this forest, slayer of those that dare trespass my forests, my lands…my dominion with hatred and darkened heart"

The villagers were well aware of her presence in the forests, after all, she was the whisper that surrounded each tree, that made them blossom in spring and the one that protected travelers with good will and honesty in their heart when in her forests. She was a great creature, a fable that most didn't believe true but still rid themselves of negativity within her domain.

Her double swords glinted maliciously, despite her calling herself a protector. The dragon behind her shifted in a standing position and before she could turn, she heard the sickening cracks of bones and then a great shadow covering the light of the moon while the eyes of the wounded villagers widened in fright.

"A..A DRAGON!" and as hurt as they were, they scrambled away like bats in daylight. possibly going back to the village and tell the others what happened. That also meant that they were not safe here anymore.

Minthe finally turned to face the beast, not as big as the older dragons, but clearly a size too big for the approximate age that she gave. It was clear that he was a powerful dragon and he was going to be one of the strongest of his kin –a fire draco by the dark red adorning his scales, tints of black and horns atop his enormous head.

His nostrils flared as his burning gaze fixed her "I am Smaug of the great dragon kin…I have no need for a pathetic nymph saving me" his voice boomed through as the female remained unmoved "What an insult you have downed upon me…I should just chew on your flesh and bones-"

"Watch your tongue, dragon, my patience is running thin" the dragon stared at her with wide eyes before it roared in anger, making the birds that nestled in the trees take flight at the powerful shriek.

"YOU DARE INTERRUPT THE GREAT SMAUG?"

"Your temper is something to be ashamed of…I would lower the tone, your scales are not fully developed, you are still young as a dragon and that makes them penetrable, you cannot spit fire the way you should because of the same reason and my blades are not ordinary either which makes you an easy target…_Smaug_" she mocked with a gentle smile.

He had never met someone to talk to him like that and he was furious beyond relief. It was all true, he was still young and he didn't reach maturity completely, his scales vulnerable and his emotions too powerful to grasp. Snarling at her, the beast wearily shifted some space away and glared at her menacingly, eyes ablaze at how he didn't have a choice but to let her treat him like this. He was smart though and he knew that this one needed him to back away, she was no human that was to cower in fear at only his sight –just that he was a dragon and bigger than them –she didn't even flinch at his display!

"What are you?" his words rolled out slowly, calm and sharp now, much to the redheaded nymph's delight. This was more on her liking. It seemed the dragon was young and impulsive but did not lack brains to know that she could end his reign anytime.

"A _dryad_"

And she passed by him as if he was not even there "I suggest you take flight, dragon, I do not like the way my forest, my territory became a bed for everyone to lay on and converse" her tone was cold as ice and if he were in his human form he would have probably been a tad bit intimidated, however, he didn't move, he only looked over to the village with longing. The nymph sensed that and glanced back with a sigh –he was acting like fourteen year old when flutters were felt in the pit of the stomach at every woman that passed by them and casted them a glance. He was even stupid enough to think that his 'human' form, a mix between a human and dragon could pass by unnoticed, just to see one human girl…she had to admit that it was admirable how far his 'love' took him, but reality was floating above him like a dark cloud.

"She is human, you are dragon….how did it even happen?" the question had Smaug turn to her with a scowl "It is not your business, nymph" he coldly grunted. "Ironic how you ended up running in my forest, hmmm?" a playful tinge in her voice had him turn his slit pupils to her and watch her intently as she sat down in front of him, cross-legged.

"It must have been the scent, no? The alluring scent of a girl becoming a woman can be intoxicating, even for a dragon and even if she is human…then again, that means we can get attached to even a frog" the woman spoke wisely "You are young, dragon, I understand you-"

"_YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS_!" a sudden roar thundering above her was heard and the woman had to stop herself from snapping at him and his reckless attitude. "Fine then…so you will spend eternities to no end chasing a human that will surely die of old age –come with me now, you need shelter" she prodded again with calmness she never knew she had in store and the crimson beast looked at her suspiciously, daringly and disapprovingly before casting another look at the far away village.

If anyone saw him around, be it man or beast, they would prey on him because of his heritage. He must have just left the lair because he was terribly inexperienced with the world around him –but that was fine, he had millions of years to figure that out.

"Come now" another tug at his conscience and logic and the dragon growled throatily and stood up in all his glory and glared at her for guidance, which she gladly offered as she stood up and started walking within the dense forest, trees parting and making path for her and the dragon in an eerie way that soothed the beast, comfort slowly seeping under his scales as he followed the light footsteps of the nymph.

Her presence was soaking the forest in peace and quiet, in serenity and security, every little organism in her domain reacting to her like a child to her mother –and then he realized that this is what she was to her forests, to her lands, she was their mother for she nourished them alive with a single speck of her energy, her magic that intoxicated her very person and sprung around her like an untamed fire with every step she took.

He couldn't help but admire the woman and above all, he could feel a light throb of his young heart. They stopped shortly in front of a large cave scooped in the base of a large cliff and the nymph turned to him, gingerly pointing him to that cave…to which he snorted. "I am not sleeping in that cave…there is no-"

"No gold, not treasure for you to bathe in while you slumber? You must have just left the lair of your kind" and she struck him hard again because he lost his temper and forced his head back at her, aiming his long sharp teeth at her before his maw met her cold hand and he stopped abruptly. "And it is not only the lair you have left back there, but manners as well" she smiled gently, the scar over her eye betraying her seemingly peaceful nature and he clasped his big jaw shut, retracting with a low growl and settling himself at the opening of the cave as his eyes peered at her curiously. The redhead climbed the nearest tree to his location and made herself comfortable on a branch as to watch over him in case more villagers came to look for the dragon.

Somehow, he felt oddly comfortable under her gaze and as much as his teachings went against getting help from anyone, he could gladly accept it until he was strong enough to take flight, the events he went through having worn him out –not that he would ever say that outloud, his draconic pride wouldn't allow him to voice any good thoughts about this…nymph.

"Have a good sleep, dragon" and he scowled irritated at how she would call him that, as if he were some ordinary dragon, oh noo, he was Smaug, he was going to be feared throughout Arda! The great Smaug, the magnificent Smaug! He could almost taste it on his tongue and a satisfied smirk played at his scaled maw.

They were all going to see him grow to greatness and fear would come along the path.

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**Okay, so this is my first attempt at a story with the...amazing Smaug, and I am excited to see some opinions!**

**Please tell me if I should continue or not, because I am all nervous ; u;**

**Review and Private message me, please please please!**


	2. Chapter 2 - His first treasure

**"**_Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it_**"**

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"Give me food and I will live; give me water and I will die. What am I?"

The dragon pondered quietly, his head hanging and finally settling on the ground not far from the smiling nymph that eyed him with interest. The fact that he would refuse to leave the forest just yet, claiming that he was still weakened and in need of rest had the woman keep an eye on him for almost two days now. After that night, the dragon kept sleeping while she continued to watch over. The villagers didn't react yet and his scent hadn't been felt by anyone else in this forest or out of it. In the end, the redhead ended up breaking the silence with riddles –to which he could not resist to show his superior intellect.

"Fire" he finally grunted and closed his eyes, hoping that she was done with him after correctly answering almost 10 of her riddles. A sigh, however, caught his attention and his now half lidded eyes glared at her, seeing that she had laid on her back in the bed of leaves. Autumn was here and the cold breeze could send chills during nights, it also meant that the rain season was close by along with thunderstorms and overflowing rivers.

"No sooner spoken than broken. What is it?" her murmur was loud enough for the reptile, and he growled while closing his eyes. "Silence…"

"Dragon, why are you still in my forest?" she suddenly asked him, sitting up and brushing a hand over her fiery locks, emeralds gazing at him with a twinkle of knowledge. Smaug finally looked at her, moving his head up to fix her with his scorching eyes. His nostrils flared and his tail twisted, feeling a blow at his pride with just the intonation that she used. She knew very well he was new to this, to all of this and he had no idea what to do –well, he did in a way, but even for an intelligent creature as him, putting everything in practice wasn't easy. As an almost mature male, he had to fly and find his treasures, collect his hoard, he had to take over lands and create himself a territory, to be known as mighty and powerful –yet he felt like those were too out of reach for him with a vulnerable body to carry around; it was a reason why so many foolish fire drakes never made it in this world, why the dragon kin didn't flourish much.

"I can guide you through everything you must know, I have always admired your kin" the offer sounded tempting and he felt a tinge of shame for agreeing to it almost immediately.

"Very well, I allow you, the nymph of this forest to be my guide until I become great and strong –I will have no need for you after" he arrogantly spoke, flaring his nostrils again as if it took his whole being to say those words.

The reason why she wanted to help this fool was simply out of admiration for the fire drakes, they were almost extinct! Especially ones as big as him and it would be a pity if he would end up dead in his first weeks of being out of the lair. "Fine by me, dragon" and she had to agree to 'his' decision of giving her the honor of helping him.

Minthe was not a stupid creature of this world, she knew it was better if she molded him into one of his ancestors, one of his great ancestors –one which she had the honor of meeting. It had been long ago, very long ago, when she was still young that she met her first dragon. Her territory wasn't as big, but he landed there, hurt, wounded enough that he could not continue. He had shifted his form as soon as he collided and she found him, tended to his injuries, brought him food like the naïve fool she was and came to love him only for him to be slain by dwarves that came looking for him at the indications of humans. It was that fateful day when she watched her beloved slain in front of her eyes that she started despising the race, that filthy race –selfish and ugly, with hearts that could be easily corrupted by envy, by hatred and wrath and most importantly : greed.

She looked away bitterly, her emeralds searching for another object of her attention as she stood up on her feet and turned her back to the beast, her finger tips brushing over the scar –the reminder of that day. Without her knowledge, he observed her intently, gathering information about her every second he saw a gesture from her –who knows? It might help in the future when he will want to destroy her mentally and physically; No one talked with such defiance to a dragon and she would meet her death in her dragon fire when he would grow. She was stupid to give him her name, her roots, then shelter –he might be thankful now, but he was going to end her later on when he had no need for her. A scowl somehow formed over his gigantic features, but he settled with sleeping, letting that vanish before she turned around.

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In the silence of the night, a light rustle bothered the sleeping Smaug and he heard the delicate footsteps of the nymph stopping not far from him, as if she was watching if he was sleeping or not, before she continued on towards the commotion not far from their location.

"Lady Minthe…what is the meaning of this?" a hushed female voice was heard, his sharp hearing picking it up as if it were next to his ear.

"Do I have to give you, a youngling, explanations?" the sharp voice of Minthe had him wonder why she was acting so cold towards one of her kin, but more so, what was another doing on her domain?

"Lady Minthe! I beg for your forgiveness, but he sent for me to-"

"How did he find out?" the redhead interrupted "…Humans, my lady, they speak and he was near the village when he heard of the events…he didn't want to come, he is angered"

"For an elf he acts like a possessive dwarf" she hissed and then silence fell for a moment.

"Lady Minthe, he is worried that it will happen again….let go of the dragon, that is his plea"

The nymph took some time to answer that, but when she did, it was confident and authoritarian "No" and by the rustle that followed, he figured that the other younger nymph left. A satisfied smirk contorted itself on his maw and faded once she returned. The woman was no fool, she knew how to pick her allies it seemed and he was impressed by the way she stood her ground with such ferocity in her words. Perhaps he made the right choice in letting her stay by his side for now.

His dreams however, turned to that maiden that lured him in that village, her scent, the intoxicating scent that surrounded her and that golden locks, yes…those golden specks of hair that looked like gold shining in the sun rays. As moments passed of him thinking about her scent and her hair that resembled gold, the dragon realized he wanted to see that woman again –just for the hair and the scent.

The footsteps of the redhead made him stir from his dream state and come conscious again without moving or opening his eyes "I know you are awake, Smaug" how did she know everything? What kind of nymph was she? A low grunt left his throat as his double lids revealed slit pupils that regarded her with ignorance.

"Do you wish to go into the village?"

It was a soft spoken question, but it immediately caught his attention and he raised his head with curiosity and suspicion on his scaly features "Why would you want to go there?" was it because of the he? The elf that the other nymph spoke about? Was he her lover of some sort?

"You do wish to see your human girl, do you not?"

He felt his pride taking another hit when she muttered those words, but he stared down at her with interest "Well then, change your form, the last thing she would like to see would be a dragon confessing his love for her" . Mockery! She was mocking him and he growled loud as a warning to her frail figure, did she wish to get eaten? "Manners, my dear dragon…manners"

He was going to rip off her limbs and watch her bleed until her last breath…and then burn her and watch as she screams in agony, begging to be killed already! His nostrils flared and smoke came out, signaling his anger while his scorching glare followed her.

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Using her magic, she managed to hide their real forms –her, looking like a normal peasant, with curly red hair, freckles and brown eyes while he was concealed as a male with short black hair and golden eyes, something that she could not get rid of easily by her simple magic.

With these appearances, they waltzed from the forest as simple merchants and ventured into the busy village. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small, being one of the villages that decorated the plains near Rohan. He was surprised to find an enormous bonfire in the middle of it and people dancing around it as if it was some type of festivity. The nymph that stood by him smiled, as if she knew what he was thinking "They are celebrating the coming of Autumn" and what odd way of celebrating such a season, by burning leaves and wood.

"The maidens come with their most precious jewelry, they throw it in the fire and when morning comes, if their chosen piece had withstood the destruction of it, it means they will be protected for the rest o the year as long as they wear it" she explained wisely. Well, it was expected of her to know their habits…it was the village closest to her territory.

"Control your temper, dragon" her cool whisper ran by his ear as she gracefully stepped away from him, choosing to go in her business while he looked for his beloved golden locks. His calmer eyes now scanned the lit up streets that led to the centre of the village, each full with stands of food, music played by mandolins as drunk songs floated in the air, bodies of human males and females dancing joyfully in the light of the bonfire. The dragon stood there, with a blank expression, until he caught glimpse of his object of infatuation : the blonde mignon that danced wildly, with moves so erotic that had her human opposites stare in awe.

They could stare all they wanted, she was his! Confident strides followed and stopped as another man came behind her and scooped her up in his arms, kissing her feverishly. Those were his lips! Lips that he kissed not many nights before and that was flesh that he touched! Fury and jealousy burned at his soul, but kept a steady pace until he touched that golden hair of hers –oh the dragon was furious! The nymph was nowhere in sight and he had to watch how they whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears. That harlot!

The two stepped away into darkened alleys discreetly as to not be spotted by anyone or followed, but he did, he saw them and he followed without any second thought. It wasn't long before an ear piercing scream was heard and all music stopped, joy left the festivity and villagers started heading to where the distressing sound was heard from.

And they were horrified with that they found.

The slaughtered forms of the two lovers, the girl with missing chunks of hair, their aces disfigured by what looked like claw marks and limbs burnt, making the finders sick to the stomach by the sight. Smaug, however, smirked satisfied as he watched from some distance away, the golden locks that he stole tucked in the palm of his hand –his first collecting of treasure! As if on cue, he was violently grabbed by the arm and shoved away by an angry nymph.

"What did you do!?" her eyes shone with anger and disbelief, confusion and what looked like disappointment "I told you to control your temper! That was the girl you were so attached to, wasn't she?" her urgent whispers made him look away indifferently "She was a harlot" and that was reason enough for her life to end. No one made Smaug jealous! No one touched what belonged to Smaug! He lost his temper, dragons always went through more powerful emotions than humans and their feelings could rarely be held down.

With a huff, the woman grabbed him and hurried away from the scene, away from the bonfire and on the path to the forest. He was a young dragon and she knew it was hard for him to control this, but she never expected him to end up doing such a thing! She was mostly ashamed of herself, guilt seeping through her veins and running through her boiling blood with every step. Even her little spell wore out, revealing their true forms the moment they stepped foot into the forest. She let go of his hand and stormed her way back to the location of the cave furiously –and it wasn't all Smaug's fault for her ruined mood, but rather the person she met in the village at the tavern.

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**Okay, so...I will clarify some things due to some private messages I got.**

**No, I am not going to use Sherlock Holmes as a model for Smaug's faceclaim...just no. I did see the tv show, I know he is the voice actor of Smaug, but I do not feel comfortable with doing that...it's really not how I would see Smaug, so if you are a fan of that thing and not the great character of Smaug, then please...feel free to read another fanfic.**

**The second issue was the idea of the whole story : this is happening in the past, waaaay before Smaug became that feared dragon, this is his way through, his journey to greatness! I saw that most stories about him run around the same 'maiden gets caught in his lair for her beauty/ voice/ talent and they fall in love and he turns into a mushy dragon' and I have nothing to say! It was original when it was first written, yes, and I admit I read one of those and I loved it! but I wanted to come up with something different so...I came up with this idea.**

**I would also love messages from you guys because I'm kind of hung on whether to continue or not, reviews and messages would help me get a view of where the reader would like this to be angled, what exactly they would like to see and how I could make that happen! I also love ideas because it's pure inspiration to me! Thank you and I'm waiting to see some opinions from you guys.**


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